The
1997 vintage is highly regarded in much of Italy. However, if you've read other
snippets of writings on this site, you'll know that we are more conscious of the wine in
the bottle than the vintage on the label.

Many people are blinded by a big number on a vintage chart. Keep in mind the
vintage chart refers to the weather in a large area, not taking into account factors such
as crop level, oak barrels, harvest dates and cellar work.

Tuscan estates were delighted to have a dry and sunny harvest, bringing in healthy
fruit with a minimum of difficulty. Wine writers are often in some sort of
competition to be the first to trumpet the qualities of a vintage. The 1997 vintage
has received much praise from critics everywhere. Early on through today. Some
of the trumpet blasts are warranted. Some are extra loud to daze and confuse.

We organized a set of some highly-acclaimed Sangiovese wines. Here's what we
found.

The Wines

Gerald's Rankings

Ellen's Ranking

Bob's Ranking

GROUP RANKING

TOTAL POINTS

1sts/2nds/Lasts

CECCHI1997 Chianti Classico Riserva"Messer Pietro di Teuzzo"$27.99

7

2

8

5

76

1/2/1

COLLE LUNGO1997 Chianti Classico Riserva
$ 59.99

6

8

4

6

81

2/1/4

FELSINA1997 Chianti Classico Riserva"Cru Rancia"$42.99

5

6

5

7

92

0/1/4

FELSINA1997 Toscana
"Fontalloro"
$65.99

3

3

1

2

49

4/4/0

FONTODI1997 Colli Toscana Centrale"Flaccianello"$69.99

4

5

6

3

61

1/1/0

LA MASSA1997 Chianti Classico"Giorgio Primo"$57.99

1

1

3

1

46

7/3/1

MONTE VERTINE1997 Toscana"Riserva" (but not listed as Chianti!)$49.99

8

4

7

8

98

1/0/6

POLIZIANO1997 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano"Asinone"$ 44.99

2

7

2

4

73

0/4/0

TASTING REPORT BY BOB GORMAN with GERALD adding his
two-cents' worth.

8th PLACE: MONTE VERTINE 1997 "RISERVA"This Tuscan red, not listed as Chianti but sporting a somewhat
questionable riserva designation, suffered stiff competition from its DOC
Chianti cousins. Tasters found it straightforward, simple, pleasant, even
Beaujolais-like, a nice pizza/pasta wine. One taster found it a bit
tannic and leathery at first broadening to include some vanilla and plum notes. Others
found it poorly concentrated and empty. Bob found a nose
reminiscent of dehydrated fruits, cherries especially, accented with a bit of oak. Once on
the palate it proved to be sharp-toned, acidic with a weak mid-palate. Unlike the majority
of the wines in the tasting which were Sangiovese dominated, this one, he felt, was
compromised by the addition of white wine in the blend.GERALD'S COMMENTS: I'd disagree with Bob's feeling
about the addition of white wine such as Trebbiano to this wine, though I see his point.
I found it mildly earthy with good fragrances typical of Sangiovese. I found
the wine to be a good example of simple, basic, modest-level Chianti and not a wine which
should be pretending to be a "reserve" wine. One star (scale of three).

7th PLACE: FATTORIA di FELSINA 1997 CHIANTI
CLASSICO RISERVA "Rancia"Tasters found this seventh-place wine to be simple,
sharp-toned, tannic and skinny. Another found an earthy wine with a
charcoal-like edge to flavors and finish. Another taster found oak on the nose and
sourness on the palate. Bob had a rather more positive assessment finding a curious
Black Muscat tone at first but full, generous Sangiovese fruit came up in the
glass. In spite of some sharp-toned fruit, easy fruit tannins and a grapefruit-rind
finish, he found the same nice core of Sangiovese fruit that he found on the nose.GERALD'S COMMENTS: Bright, berryish notes with correct
cherry fruit aromas. I found this to be a very good example of Chianti, though I
can't say I found it to be a wine for which I'd pay a premium price. Probably has
5-8 years of life. Nice. One star.

6th PLACE: COLLELUNGO 1997 CHIANTI CLASSICO RISERVAThis sixth-place wine inspired considerable controversy. A defender praised
its ripe, full, rich Sangiovese fruit complemented nicely with oak, showing
excellent structure and promise of some further development. Less enthusiastic
tasters found whiffs of sulfur at first with earthy, cherry-like notes
ensuing, honest Sangiovese fruit, herbal and meaty and a third found
a simple wine reminiscent of artichoke liquor and an off odor of beef bouillon cubes
(!). Bob admitted to finding it a bit shrill with some funky notes but with
bright Sangiovese fruit ultimately dominating with accents of spice, orange-rind and oak.
Fruit on the palate was nice and deep and stopped just short of over-extraction. Sweet oak
mitigated the rough edges of this truly Riserva style wine.GERALD'S COMMENTS: Having found this to be a spectacular
wine on another occasion, I was disappointed in this particular bottle. It seemed to
give hints of greatness, but there was a flawed element which didn't seem to be the result
of a bad cork. The fragrances were reminiscent of the wet leaves in a shaded forest
area, dank and earthy but not totally unpleasant. There's the sweet oak I found
previously, however. The same woodsy, earthy notes emerge on the palate. I
think there are positives here, but this particular bottle was a negative.

5th PLACE: CECCHI 1997 CHIANTI CLASSICO RISERVA "Messer Pietro di
Teuzzo"Ascending to fifth place, this wines admirers were curiously reticent
while others attacked it barnyardy, raw-fish odor and palate showing unripe fruits
(plums especially) and vegetal finish. Another remarked that it started out nicely
enough but closed up tightly. Bob joined the nay-sayers finding some
Brettanomyces notes (the barnyard thing), decent enough Sangiovese fruit but a
disturbing note of oxidation. He also found the same vegetal note,
as though there was some less than ripe Cabernet Franc added to the blend.GERALD'S COMMENTS: Mildly earthy notes and cherry fruit
combine with a whiff of oak for a nice fragrance. The wine has some sharpness to it,
suggesting a few years of aging might be in order. I have found previous vintages of
this to be excellent and with a greater level of oak (the 1995 reminds me of a Rioja
wine!). This is a one-star quality bottle.

4th PLACE: POLIZIANO 1997 VINO NOBILE di MONTEPULCIANO
"Asinone" (a reserve wine of a single vineyard)The fourth place Poliziano showed tasters red fruits, oak, licorice and
rose petal in the aroma although one taster thought that there was a curious hint of
chlorine. On the palate there was plum and sage with oak on the
finish. Another liked its nice mouth-feel and still another found it
fuller, more generous than other wines in the tasting. Bob found notes of
dried fruits (cherry and plum especially) accented by spice and floral notes. He liked the
bright, zesty entry and depth of fruit with easy tannins and slight bitter finish
reminiscent of kumquat.GERALD'S COMMENTS: Lots of cherries and lovely fruit to this
mildly-oaked, mildly spicy wine. The same elements are confirmed on the palate of
this zesty, youthful, moderately tannic wine. I'd peg is as a star-and-a-half to
two-star level wine.

3rd PLACE: FONTODI 1997 "FLACCIANELLO" Third place Flaccianello,  a wine which comes under the heading
of "Super-Tuscan," was liked for its full, ripe Sangiovese fruit
with hints of herbs, ripened plum, chocolate, spice and oak. One taster was
reminded of roast chestnuts and another found a minerally finish.
Bob found dried Bing cherries, mint and wet leather on the nose. He was more
sensitive to the Brettannomyces component that he felt compromised the fruit and accented
some tough tannins.GERALD'S COMMENTS: Lots of cherry notes to the fruit which
is quite ripe. The wine has similar flavors and is tannic and well-structured to
cellaring another 5-10 years. The finish is rather lengthy. One star to
star-and-a-half.

2nd PLACE: FELSINA 1997 "FONTALLORO"Tasters responded to the second-place Fontalloro praising its full,
lush, rich, balanced fruit, a complex wine with hints of bright
red and black fruits, nicely integrated oak, orange peel and
mushroom. Bob seconded the tasters: quite a nose-full! He liked the
big, zesty, long Sangiovese fruit, approaching Tuscan perfection.GERALD'S COMMENTS: Lovely aroma and bouquet! Woodsy,
intensely fruity with red fruits and berries. The wine comes across the palate as
being rather muscular, with a fair bit of tannin, needing 5-8 years to reach its peak.
One to two stars.

1st PLACE: LA MASSA 1997 Chianti Classico
"Giorgio Primo"Tasters loved this first place wine for its harmonious, complex,
concentrated fruit and rich, soft mouthfeel. One taster liked its
creamy oak and another was reminded of chocolate covered
cherries. One detractor found it to have some "drying, green, stemmy
notes." Another said it "doesn't have as much fruit as it does
oak." Bob found hints of marzipan and candied fruits. This is a balanced,
full and long wine with at least two years development in store.GERALD'S COMMENTS: Cedary, woodsy, lovely fragrances of cherries
with plenty of sweet notes from the oak. The flavors are cherryish and, in my view,
not buried by wood. Moderately tannic, this is truly a grande vino.

Please note: The wines tasted are not always wines
we have (or have had) in the shop.
Many bottles are merely for our enological exploration.
Price quoted are current at the time of the tasting, but may be different
when you're reading this.

WE HAVE NOT ORGANIZED A TASTING IN A WHILE...
BUT WE DO POST THE RESULTS OF A PRIVATE TASTING GROUP THAT'S BEEN MEETING FOR
MORE THAN 40 YEARS!

We are working on
organizing some blind-tastings at the shop.
Send us a note to indicate your interest in participating.
These would be on Wednesday evenings and you'd need to bring 8 wine glasses.